1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical wiring installations and more particularly to a liquid tight swivel connector for coupling flexible nonmetallic electrical conduit to a junction box.
2. Antecedents of the Invention
Among the requirements for electrical wiring were safety and ease of installation. With respect to electrical conduit installations, it was important to assure that fittings, which were coupled to lengths of conduit, were not prone to obstructions to the threading of wires or cables therethrough.
Additionally, space limitations presented in a particular installation environment often required angular fittings of constricted dimensions and fittings which needed to be angularly adjustable on site.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,631 disclosed a swivel fitting which was apparently injection molded of thermoplastic and comprised a pair of tubular members, each of which included a bore. The tubular member had mating flanges, one of which included radiused corners and the other, a mating radiused recess. The flanges, hence, the tubular members, were joined together by a coupling nut. The free end of one of the tubular members included a junction box nipple and an integral radial abutment flange for bearing against the outside of a junction box, while the free end of the other member included a conduit fitting.
In order to obtain appropriate clearance for assembly of the swivel fitting, the coupling nut was required to pass over the radial abutment flange and was thus required to have a relatively large diameter, which resulted in placing limitations on the radius of curvature of the fitting and precluded usage of the fitting in certain limited space applications.
A further drawback inherent in the swivel fitting of U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,631 was that the internal bores of each member were not coincident at the radiused flanges, which presented internal obstructions to the smooth threading of wires and cables.